Review: Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – Wait What Rapture?

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, is an atmospheric adventure game developed by The Chinese Room and SCE Santa Monica Studio published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is available for purchase on Steam and the Playstation store for $21.99 and can be played on PC and Playstation 4.

Well, here we are at the end of life. Not a soul to be seen, only what remains of their previous existence. Let me say this now before you go any further, this is not a game it’s an experience. There are no objectives or missions of the like. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is purely meant to place you in a situation that has befell the villagers of a quaint little English town and re-live their experience as they try to deal with a catastrophe they know nothing about.

The Energy

The way you experience the game is through a floating energy that reenacts the inhabitants conversations, actions, and possibly last moments of life. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, is a solitary first person game with your only companion being this energy. Sometimes it will be stationary, while other times it will lead you to different destinations to continue the story. It’s the story teller, as well as the main actors. This yellow ball of energy that swirls and models the inhabitants actions, and words is eerie. I will refrain from saying much more about the energy in light of whether or not it may be a spoiler.

The Story

As you follow this ball of energy around you being to understand that people within this community have been going missing rather mysteriously. The story itself revolves around the inhabitants and their struggle with this mysterious catastrophe. You learn about their fears, their concerns, you really gain a sense of what these people are going through during this time. The most eerie aspect about Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is how accurately the developers portray the fundamentals of human nature. By the end of it you begin to question what you would do when faced with an apocalyptic event.

What I found most interesting was how quickly you could feel for any given inhabitant. Whether it was a woman who lost their kid, or a man who lost the love of his life, you genuinely felt sympathy for them. Given the fact that this game isn’t that long and you could probably finish it in a few hours if you really rushed it, that is definitely a feat in story telling.

The Graphics

Visually this game is beautiful. It is eerie and it is beautiful. Maybe it’s so eerie because you would never think something so terrible could happen to a place so beautiful. If you are blessed with a great graphics card, lots of ram, and a good processor, you will find yourself pleased aesthetically. The graphics actually play a great deal in the overall appeal to the game. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, is an atmospheric, exploration adventure game, the graphics are meant to be awe inspiring; otherwise it would be very difficult to get through. There were countless times I found myself just starting off into the distance or admiring the trees, water, or grass. You REALLY need to see this game set to the highest settings. It’s amazing.

The Music

I am going to argue that the music is by far the most important aspect to this game; even more so than the graphics. It’s what ties everything together. The entire soundtrack is choir sung music that is just really really good. Even after playing the game I found myself listening to the soundtrack because it was so damn relaxing! Listen I know that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but they really deserve credit here for this. The entire soundtrack has this epic feel to it, like you’re strolling through a green meadow just before some massive boss fight. If their goal was to create a truly immersive experience, then they absolutely achieved that with this soundtrack. It’s REALLY REALLY GOOD.

Gameplay

It’s rather difficult to rate the game play because I truly respect what The Chinese Room is trying to do. They are using the genre of video games to bring about a truly immersive experience. Yes at times I found it a bit slow, but its because I’m not use to the feel of these types of games. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, is an open world exploration adventure game, there is no wrong way to experience this game. With that said, the fact that it felt slow didn’t deter me from playing or rather enjoying the experience. Overall a solid experience, even if it felt like it dragged a bit.

We’re a group of individuals who love to play games and like to share our thoughts with the rest of the world. We are a team of AMAZING, FILTHY CASUALS (JK) PROSAUCE people who sift through all the games to find the best one for you :)